Psalm 141:8 “But my eyes are fixed on you, O Sovereign Lord; in you I take refuge….”
Where do your eyes go in times of trouble? Do they frantically dart from one potential source of help to another? Do they gaze inward, withdrawn into an inevitable look of defeat? Maybe you simply close them, pretending there’s really nothing wrong.
When a vast coalition of enemies advanced against King Jehoshaphat, scripture says he was “alarmed” (2 Chronicles 20). No wonder! He knew he was outnumbered, out resourced, and outsmarted. But he didn’t let his panic take control. Instead, he fixed his eyes on the Lord. “….For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you” (2 Chronicles 20:12).
That fixation on God resulted in a rout so big that it took Jehoshaphat and his army three full days to collect the spoils!
Eyes fixed on God always win. They never lose focus on what’s important. On where the real battle lies. They see that not knowing what to do is their greatest asset.
Last winter the heavy snows took a toll on our roof. We knew it would have to be replaced, but we were completely stumped in how to resolve the problem. We were not facing a vast coalition of enemies, but even in our relatively small dilemma, like Jehoshaphat, we cried out to God, “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” One morning while we were praying, my husband heard a steady tap, tap, drill, from our neighbor’s yard. When he went to inspect the sound, he found an Amish roofing team replacing our neighbor’s roof! Chip knew immediately that they embodied the answer to our prayer.
Not only did the roofers put up a solid roof at a reasonable price, but more importantly, the whole situation deepened our trust in God. We had set our eyes on the Lord and he showed us what to do. That was the true victory, the one that would prepare us for the next storm, the next battle.
So whether you are facing a “vast coalition” of problems right now, or a small impasse, don’t let your eyes shift from one place to the next. Fix them on the Sovereign Lord. You may not know what to do, but he does….